Endometriosis Increases Risk of Certain Ovarian Cancers

"The difficult question is how should patients with endometriosis be screened?" said Yamada. "It is difficult to make the jump to formulating a blanket statement for screening for women with endometriosis."

Recent studies have even found that ultrasounds and blood tests intended to screen for ovarian cancer actually did more harm than good by undergoing unnecessary follow-up treatments and surgeries. At this point, Yamda said it would be a "leap of faith" to recommend that women should undergo rigorous screening, but the information offers new clues on how and who to screen to prevent the cancer, which causes about 15,000 American deaths each year, according to the American Cancer Society.

"Screening programs for ovarian cancer are not currently effective, but that may change in the future and women with endometriosis," said Pearce. "[It] may represent a population for whom screening may be appropriate."